WAYNESBORO — The new year got off to a big start for the Waynesboro Youth League.

Still months away from the start of the season, players, coaches and parents already have a lot to look forward to after news that Waynesboro will host the 2013 Cal Ripken 12U Middle Atlantic Regional tournament in July.

The winner of the tournament will advance to the Cal Ripken World Series in Hammond, Ind. from Aug. 9-16.

“We have a great group of devoted parents and volunteers that will make sure this tournament is a memorable one for all the kids who participate,” said WYL president John Steiger.

“We did the 11U tournament in 2011 under the guidance of Scott Shaffer and the support was amazing. What was more amazing were the compliments I received from the teams and parents who visited the Waynesboro area. They loved the town, the facilities and the people and I received numerous phone calls and emails afterwards stating how impressed they were with the community.”

All games will be played at the Clayton Avenue fields. The eight state champins will make up the teams.

“We will again have a fun evening to start the tournament with skills events to include a home run derby,” Steiger said. “The following day, games will begin with pool play followed by a four-team playoff.”

Teams will be from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Southern New Jersey, Northern New Jersey, Eastern New York, Metro New York and Western New York.

Steiger said there’s a lot of work to be done to ensure a successful tournament with a large price tag to go with it, too.

“We have already started to receive some financial contributions from long-time sponsors like Bonded Applicators of Waynesboro to help with this cost,” Steiger said.

Steiger said he first heard about the prospect of hosting the tournament back during the fall baseball season when he fielded a phone call from the field during a game.

“I don’t usually take phone calls while on the field, but this fall while coaching fall baseball, I did just that. Ray Lotierzo (Mid-Atlantic Region President) called me to ask if Waynesboro would host the 12U tournament in 2013,” Steiger said. “The feedback he had received from our 2011 tournament was incredible and they were looking for an opportunity to return to Waynesboro.

“The league has taken a good bit of time to make its decision. We needed to do our due diligence to make sure we can afford financially as well as volunteer labor wise to host such a tournament. We have a great group of parents and with Waynesboro’s support we see an exciting last week of July for the borough.”

Page 2 of 2 - The top team from the PA state tournament will be invited to the regional tournament in Waynesboro. Waynesboro is an automatic qualifier as the host team.

The road to Hammond starts with the District tournament in mid-June with teams from Waynesboro, Cumberland Valley, Fairfield, New Oxford, Perry County and Upper Adams. The winner and runner up advance to the state tournament where they will play the top 10 or 12 teams in the state.